Kalos Christmas Special
by Calem de Vaniville
Summary: It's a stressful Christmas Eve for Calem - his father is hosting a Christmas party at their home. Calem wants to get away from it all. But after the party turns into a living nightmare for him, Calem declares that he hates Christmas and runs away. Now it's up to Serena to help Calem regain his Christmas spirit and make amends with his father.
1. Christmas is Coming

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ I do not own Pokemon, Calem, Serena, or other canon characters. They are property of Nintendo. However, I do own some of the characters. I also made up a real name for Tierno, and I also decided what holidays everyone would celebrate (after all, not everyone celebrates Christmas)._

_This is going to be my first multi-chapter Christmas story. It will be about 4 chapters long. I hope you all enjoy it._

* * *

**THE ESTATE OF NIBIRU-MUL PRESENTS**

**KALOS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL**

**CHAPTER 1: CHRISTMAS IS COMING**

It was a cold December in Vaniville Town. There was no snow, but it was still pretty frigid. Today was December 23 - Christmas was only two days away.

Calem, Serena, Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno were walking through the streets of Vaniville Town. They were talking about their plans for the holidays.

"What do you plan on doing for Christmas Eve?" asked Shauna.

"I'm going to have family over at my house," said Serena.

"I'm going to go to a Christmas Eve party," said Trevor.

"And you?" Calem asked Shauna.

"I don't celebrate Christmas," said Shauna. "I celebrate Hanukkah."

"Oh," said Calem. "What about you, Tierno?"

"I don't make a big deal on Christmas," said Tierno. "My mom's family celebrates it, and I pay service to a few traditions. My dad's family has other holidays, and I observe those. You were at my house for one of them, I remember."

"Yes," said Calem. "I visited you on Eid al-Adha. I got to meet your dad's parents. It's funny how you they call you Hassan."

"Yeah," said Tierno. "They have trouble calling me Tierno. I know Tierno is a weird nickname...it means tender in Spanish. Mom's family is Spanish."

"My mom's family is Spanish too," said Calem. "I don't think Tierno is a weird nickname."

"What are you doing, Calem?" asked Shauna.

Calem sighed.

"My dad's hosting a party at my house," said Calem.

"Sounds like fun," said Serena.

"This party's not fun," said Calem. "My dad's inviting his friends over."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Serena.

"A lot," said Calem. "Since my older sister is going to be with her boyfriend on Christmas Eve, I'm running around a lot, preparing for this party. Dad wants this party to be the best he's ever had. He's trying to impress the fellow performers. Plus I don't know if you guys will be able to come over."

"I'll be fine," said Tierno. "I'm at home on Christmas Eve."

"I'm at home too," said Shauna.

"I'm just really bothered by the whole fiasco," said Calem. "I wish I could spend time with my extended family, but that's for tomorrow when we visit my paternal grandparents' house - though my other grandparents will be there."

"That's good," said Serena. "Try to spend time with them."

"Unfortunately," said Calem, "Dad might want me to entertain the guests because of our journey across Kalos, and I don't feel like talking about it. I've already beaten it to death."

"I'm sure they won't mind," said Serena.

"I guess," said Calem. "I'm not looking forward to Christmas Eve. I've already got to make a few trips to various stores the next few days."

"Calem," said Serena, "if you're stressed out with everything, you can come to my place."

"Maybe," said Calem.

Calem sighed and started pacing around.

"I'm not really one for the holidays, actually," said Calem. "I hate Christmas music, there's too many tacky Christmas specials on TV, and it's commercialized beyond belief. Family is one of the few saving graces - as well as presents. But all the stuff I hate is going to be at the party."

"I feel that you're just complaining for the heck of it," said Trevor.

Calem ran his finger through the collar of his blue high collar jacket - the one he wore on most days.

"You're right," said Calem. "But right now I got to get home. Dad might want me to run to the store soon."

The others looked on as Calem waved goodbye and walked back to his house.

"Poor Calem," said Tierno.

"It must be really hard for him," said Shauna. "I know it would be awful if I had to get ready for some big Christmas party."

Calem went back to his house and talked to his mother Cecilia.

"Mom?" said Calem.

"What is it, dear?" asked Cecilia.

"About the Christmas party tomorrow..." said Calem, "do you think I could stay in my room for most of the party?"

"You can," said Cecilia, "but I want you to spend at least a little time downstairs with my parents. You don't have to talk to your father's friends, but it's important if you be polite to everyone."

Calem shrugged.

"Okay," he said.

"I know this is stressing you out," said Cecilia, "but it's only going to happen this year. You won't have to worry about it in the future. In the meantime, just try to make the best of it. It's just that your father's boss really wanted this party to be at this house, and you know she can be a little difficult sometimes. It shouldn't be too big of a deal. I'll try to have them go easy on you."

"Sure thing," said Calem.

Calem went upstairs and into his bedroom. He closed the door, got on the bed, and looked around. He started at his blue walls and his white curtains, and his beige furniture, and back down at his bed and the red bedspread he sat on. Then, he saw Cal, the doll in his likeness, on the nightstand. Calem picked him up.

Then, Calem heard his father walking in the door.

"Oh no," said Calem.

Calem hugged his doll.

"Oh, Cal," said Calem. "I am worried. Please, give me the bravery to get through this. Dad's not acting like he usually does, and I'm really stressed out about it. I don't know what to do. If only you could talk - then you could help me at a time like this!"


	2. The Christmas Party

**CHAPTER 2: THE CHRISTMAS PARTY**

After about an hour, Calem's father Pierre walked upstairs.

"Hi, Dad," said Calem.

"Hi, Calem!" said Pierre.

"How's it going?" asked Calem.

"Fine," said Pierre. "I have a lot of work. I need you to run some errands. First, I need you to go to the candle shop to get some peppermint-scented Christmas candles. After that, I need you to get some snacks at the supermarket. And I also need you to pick up your dry cleaning."

Calem sighed.

"I want to relax," said Calem.

"Sorry, Calem," said Pierre, "but I need you to do this."

"Fine," said Calem. "I'll get going."

Calem took his messenger bag and left the house. Then he made his way to the candle shop. It wasn't too crowded, which Calem was happy about.

First, Calem went to look for peppermint-scented Christmas candles. He looked around for them, which involved him going around the entire store four times. But unfortunately, he could not find any of the candles he wanted. He asked the clerk if they had any.

"Sorry," she said, "but we've run out of them."

"Oh man!" said Calem.

Calem then called his father on his cell phone.

"Hello?" asked Calem.

"Hey," said Pierre.

"I have something to tell you," said Calem. "The store's all out of the candles you want. Mind if I substitute them with another kind?"

"Sure," said Pierre, "just pick a nice-smelling flavor."

Calem ended up buying some lavender-scented candles, since he thought that they smelled nice.

Next stop was the supermarket. Calem decided to get some snacks. He ended up getting popcorn, guacamole chips, ranch dip, and celery. The last item was beef slices, but Calem saw that they were out of those too. Calem had to get chicken slices instead.

"I hope this will do," said Calem.

Unfortunately, the supermarket line was pretty long, and it took 40 minutes for Calem to reach the cashier. And lastly, Calem went to pick up his dry cleaning. And there was also a line here, which made Calem annoyed.

Calem went back to his house and brought everything inside.

"I got everything for you," said Calem.

"Thanks," said Pierre.

Calem looked tired.

"Can I go to bed after dinner?" asked Calem.

"Okay..." said Pierre.

Calem and his parents ate dinner relatively late that night, and Calem decided to go to bed right afterwards. He put on his pajamas. Then he turned off the lights, and got into bed with Cal. He fell asleep.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and of course it was quite hectic. Calem and his parents were running around, making the food for the party and setting up the tables. Calem felt that he was going to flip since was getting tired of all this work. He wanted Christmas to be over.

"Could things get any worse?" he asked himself.

Then, Calem heard his mother talking on the phone.

"I'm sorry that you can't make it. I really wish you could come. But I know that you've got to care for him. Well...talk to you later. Okay...bye."

Calem's mother hung up. Then she walked over to Calem.

"Calem," she said.

"Yes, Mom?" said Calem.

"I have some very unfortunate news," she said. "Nani and Papi aren't going to make it tonight. Papi's brother had a heart attack, and they're visiting him at the hospital. I'm sorry about this, dear - I really am. I hope you're not too disappointed about it."

Calem sighed. This was going to be disappointing. But he couldn't help but feel sorry after his mother told him that her uncle was not going to live much longer. This made Calem think that it was a really bad Christmas if someone was going to die.

But Calem wanted to please his father, so he bottled up his feelings. He tried to show some Christmas spirit. He got dressed too - he put on a purple dress shirt, which he wore with khaki pants. On his feet he wore black dress socks with garters. He wore a red beret on his head.

Later, as the party was on, Calem hid in his room. He decided to call Serena on his cell phone.

"Hello?" said Calem.

"Hi," said Serena. "How are things going?"

"Fine," said Calem unhappily.

"Are you sure?" asked Serena. "You can tell me how you feel. I promise I'll be sympathetic."

Calem sighed

"Serena," said Calem, "the party's going on right now. I am not having fun at all - the people downstairs are talking about boring things and making stupid jokes. And my maternal grandparents couldn't make it since they had to see my dying granduncle at the hospital."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Serena. "I see you're not having fun."

"That's not even the worst of it," said Calem. "There's no one around my age at the party - just adults and a couple of little kids. The adults are boorish and the little kids are annoying. I really can't stand being at a party where there's nobody whom I can relate to. And I don't even know when it's going to end!" Calem was getting very worked up - he was clearly stressed out about this party.

"Calm down," said Serena. "Just come over to my place if you feel that you can't handle it."

Pierre knocked on the door.

"I have to go, Serena," said Calem. "Bye!"

"Bye," said Serena.

Calem hung up.

"Come in," Calem told his father.

Pierre opened the door.

"Calem," he said, "everyone wants to see you."

"Okay," said Calem.

Calem went downstairs. He found himself in a crowded room, where there were plenty of adults. In another room the little kids were playing. Calem did not feel comfortable, since the only family here was his parents. He sat down and ate some refreshments. Talking to the guests was hard, since Calem did not know what to talk about with them. Most of them were not interested in what he had to say.

And then the Christmas music started playing. Calem had heard tons of Christmas music this month, and he was getting agitated by it. He started scratching his arms and rubbing his long brown hair.

"Mom," asked Calem, "can you turn down the music a little?"

"Sure," said Cecilia.

But soon the worst part was to come. Calem had to watch one of those tastes-like-diabetes Christmas specials with the kids - it was called "The Lonely Cute Little Elf on Christmas". He tried to say no, but one of the mothers coerced Calem's parents into making him watch it. Calem sat through the whole half-our special while trying to keep his sanity in.

By then, Calem was fuming. And he walked out and saw people singing Christmas songs loudly and drinking wine. Calem's parents were trying to control the guests, but the guests were overpowering them. Eventually, one of the guests bumped into Calem, making him fall back on the nightstand. He knocked over a glass Poliwhirl statue and it fell on the floor, breaking into pieces.

At this point, Calem had had it. He was getting really angry, and he couldn't bottle it up anymore.

"DAD!" he yelled.

Pierre walked up to him.

"I want this party to be canceled!" said Calem. "Tell all these horrible people to go home!"

"Calem!" said Pierre. "These are my friends! I know they're difficult, but you should be nice to them."

"Why should I?" asked Calem, who was getting angrier.

"Because that's part of the Christmas spirit!" said Pierre, who was also getting angry.

Calem clenched his fists and started heating up.

"I HATE CHRISTMAS!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

The guests looked at Calem, who started to blush.

"I hate it!" said Calem. He turned to his father. "And I hate you too for not thinking about my feelings!"

"Go to your room, Calem!" snapped Pierre.

"But Dad..." said Calem.

"No buts," said Pierre. "March yourself up there right now and think about what you've done!"

Calem burst into tears and ran up to his room. He slammed the door behind him.

Cecilia walked up to her husband.

"Honey," she said, "I think you're getting a little carried away with this party."

"I know what I'm doing, Cecilia," said Pierre.

The mother who coerced Calem's parents into making him watch the Christmas special walked up to Pierre. She looked like a typical soccer mom.

"Pierre!" she said.

"Yes, Lou?" asked Pierre.

"You need to control that ill-mannered son of yours better!" said Lou. "I don't even know why you bother having that stupid boy around."

"You were the one who forced him to watch that babyish Christmas special," said Cecilia.

"He should learn a thing or two about sharing," said Lou. "And you need to have a firmer hand with him!"

"What?" asked Cecilia.

"You spoil him rotten!" snapped Lou. "You let him get away with things that he shouldn't. If I had acted like that, my father would have slapped me across the face with a hard belt! You need to know that his disability doesn't excuse him from politeness."

"Calem never uses his disability as an excuse for anything," said Cecilia.

"Whatever," said Lou.

Lou walked away.

"I really regret this party," said Pierre. "I should have never thrown it. How could I have been so ignorant of Calem's feelings?"

"I know, dear," said Cecilia. "I'm disappointed about this too. We're never having any Christmas parties at our house again."

Meanwhile, Calem was lying face down on his bed, with his head and hands on his pillow. He was crying.

"I hate this Christmas!" he cried. "No one even cares that I exist - not even my own parents! I wish I could have had Nani and Papi over - they would have made it better for me." Calem sobbed into his pillow, thinking of something to do.

"I know," he said. "I'll go see Serena. She'll help me."

Calem put on his jacket and his boots. Then he took Cal from his bed. He wrote on a sticky note that he was going to Serena's house and put the note on his door. He carefully walked to the front door while everyone was distracted. Then he opened the door and left the house. He closed the door behind him.


	3. Serena's House

_**A/N:** The Zorro doll that Serena made for Calem is a reference to a real anime. There's an anime version of Zorro where the title character is blond. It was made by Ashi Productions (now called Production Reed)._

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**CHAPTER 3: SERENA'S HOUSE**

Calem walked down to Serena's house and knocked on the door. Serena came to the door and opened it. She was wearing a red sweater, a black skirt, black pantyhose, and red Mary Janes.

"Hi," said Serena. "Why are you crying?"

"Can I come in?" asked Calem.

"Sure," said Serena. "Come up to my room. You can lie down on my bed."

Serena brought Calem inside and took him up to her room. Calem lay down on the bed and hid his face in Serena's pillow. He cried into the pillow.

"What's wrong, Calem?" asked Serena.

"Everything," cried Calem.

"Everything?" asked Serena.

"Dad's party is a disaster," said Calem.

"Tell me all about it," said Serena, sitting down next to Calem.

Calem looked up at Serena, who wiped his tears with a handkerchief.

"Well," said Calem, "I was running around all of yesterday and all of today, and I was so tired last night I went to bed right after dinner. Today my maternal grandparents couldn't make it to the party because Papi's brother is terminally ill. During the party I had to go down and to see the guests. They didn't care about what I had to say. Then one of the moms coerced my parents into making me watch 'The Lonely Cute Little Elf on Christmas' - ugh!"

"I don't blame you," said Serena. "I'd be pretty mad if I had to watch that. That is the most babyish Christmas special I can think of."

"I know," said Calem, "I had to sit through the whole thing. Then after that the guests were going crazy, and one of them bumped into me and knocked me over. By then I had had it, and I announced to the whole room that I hated Christmas. Then Dad got mad at me and told me to go to my room. And that's when I went to see you." Tears were running down Calem's face.

Serena patted Calem on the shoulder.

"There, there," said Serena.

"I'm afraid that nobody loves me anymore," cried Calem.

"That's not true," said Serena, "Cal loves you. Your family loves you. I love you!"

Calem hugged Serena.

"I love you too," he said.

"Listen," said Serena, "just keep calm and try to think positive."

"How can I?" said Calem. "All I've had for the past couple of days was negativity!"

"I can help you with that," said Serena.

Calem was feeling a little better, but he still felt a bit uneasy. Something about this whole Christmas shtick was really bothering him.

"Serena," said Calem, "I don't have much Christmas spirit left inside of me. The commotion going on the past few weeks really took it out of me. And the failure of my father's Christmas party was the catalyst. I really don't like Christmas anymore."

"That's a shame, Calem," said Serena. "Maybe I can help you have a better Christmas Eve."

"But I must spend it with my family," said Calem. "Family means a lot to me."

"It's only Christmas Eve, Calem," said Serena. "What are you going to do on Christmas Day?"

"I'm going to my paternal grandparents' house in Santalune City," said Calem.

"See?" said Serena. "You are going to get a chance to spend time with your family."

"Right," said Calem. "But what do you want to do now? I mean, I don't have anything to give you. My Christmas present for you is at home. I should have brought it with me."

"I can see it later," said Serena. "Right now, I have two Christmas presents for you."

Serena went to her closet and took out a present. Calem sat up as Serena brought the present to him.

"Thanks," said Calem. "What is it?"

"Open it," said Serena.

Calem tore off the wrapping paper. It was a doll - the doll had blond hair, a white ruffled shirt, a mask, a black hat, and a black vest and pants. Accompanying it was a little foil.

"Aww," said Calem. "Who is it supposed to be?"

"It's Zorro," said Serena. "I saw you watching him on the computer several times a few weeks ago."

"He's adorable," said Calem. "Thank you."

"I know how much you like dolls," said Serena. "I made dolls for Shauna and Tierno too. Trevor doesn't like dolls, so I got him an Xbox One game instead."

"You're very thoughtful, Serena," said Calem.

Calem tried to see if he could take off Zorro's hat. And surely enough, the hat came off.

"His hat and mask come off," said Serena, "but the clothes do not."

"Oh," said Calem.

"And I have another present," said Serena. "This one's even more special."

Serena went to get another present. It was smaller than the first one. Serena brought it to Calem, who opened it up. It was a heart-shaped plaque. It read:

Calem and Serena

Best Friends Forever

Calem's eyes teared up. He hugged Serena while holding the plaque.

"Thank you so much!" said Calem.

"You're welcome," said Serena.

"You really outdid yourself, Serena!" said Calem. "I wish I had gotten two presents for you."

"I don't need two," said Serena. "Only one present is enough to make me happy."

"I'm going to hang this plaque up in my room when I get home," said Calem.

"Why don't we go to your house?" asked Serena.

"Okay," said Calem, "but we're only going to my room. Make sure my parents don't see me."

Calem and Serena left the house. Calem took his plaque, Cal, and Zorro. The two went next door to Calem's house. Calem's parents were completely distracted, so they didn't even notice. The two went up to Calem's room. The first thing that Calem did was put his plaque on his desk. Then he put his dolls on his bed.

"I have a present for you too, Serena," said Calem.

Calem took out a box from his closet. He gave it to Serena. Serena opened it up. There was a beautiful necklace decorated with aquamarines. Serena gasped in delight.

"I saved a lot of money up to buy it," said Calem.

"This is wonderful!" said Serena. She put the necklace on. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," said Calem.

"Do you feel like staying?" asked Serena.

"I think I want to visit Shauna and Tierno," said Calem.

"Sure," said Serena. "Shauna is at Tierno's house right now, so we'll go over there." Calem and Serena left the house.

In the meantime, Calem's parents were really getting frustrated with the party.

"This party is overwhelming," said Pierre.

"I know," said Cecilia. "Everyone's making a huge mess."

"I think it's high time that I tell everyone to go home," said Pierre.

"Sure," said Cecilia.

The guests were partying very hard, and they had broken a few items. A few people had too much to drink. Suddenly, Pierre turned off the Christmas music and took a deep breath. He felt like letting it all out now.

"Party's over, people!" he yelled. "You guys are treating my home like a dump and you took advantage of my hospitality! Now I want you to get out!"

The guests went out in an orderly fashion, since Cecilia told them to. Pierre went up to Calem's room and read the note on the door. He figured that Calem would probably be back soon.


	4. Problem Solved

**CHAPTER 4: PROBLEM SOLVED**

Calem and Serena went over to Tierno's house. When they got inside, Tierno's father, Ayoub, greeted them. He was a chubby man with slick-backed black hair and a goatee. He smiled at the two.

"Welcome," said Ayoub. "Tierno and Shauna are upstairs. How's your holiday going?"

"Okay," said Serena.

Calem and Serena went inside the house and went upstairs. They entered Tierno's room, where Tierno and Shauna were talking. The two took notice of Calem and Serena right away. Shauna sprung up from the ground and went to greet the two.

"Hey!" said Shauna. "Enjoying your holiday?"

"Yes," said Serena.

"Fine..." said Calem.

"What's wrong?" Tierno asked Calem.

Calem sat down next to Tierno.

"I'll tell you about it," said Calem. "I left my parents' house because the party there was a disaster, and then I went over to Serena's. We talked it over, and she helped me feel better. Then we decided to give each other our presents. I'm feeling better than I was, but I don't know how to get the Christmas spirit up."

"Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I think I can help," said Tierno.

"You can?" asked Calem.

"Sure," said Tierno. "When one of my holidays gets stressful, I try to think of a solution. It was hard having to fast for the first time this year. In that situation, I tried not thinking about food. I guess when Christmas stresses you out, try to think of something else."

"Yeah," said Calem. "I remember you fasting. You ate half your weight as soon as the sun went down."

"That's because I was starving!" laughed Tierno.

Shauna looked at the two.

"I agree with Tierno," said Shauna. "Thinking about something else always helps."

"Yes," said Calem.

"It works for me," said Shauna. "When my Delphox is frustrating me, I just think of how it feels to have a nice, juicy steak slither down my esophagus!"

Calem looked confused.

"Well...it does taste good!" said Shauna. "Oh wait...you don't eat beef, so you wouldn't know."

"I guess I wouldn't," said Calem.

Finally, Serena spoke up.

"Christmas doesn't need to be a disaster," said Serena. "Just because one bad thing happens during the day doesn't mean you can't turn you day around."

"I know..." said Calem. "But what about my father?"

"Your father loves you, Calem," said Serena. "He loves you, and so does your mother. They've loved you all your life, and they will always love you no matter how old you or they get. I could see that fifty years from now they'll love you just as much as they did when you were young."

"They will?" asked Calem.

"Of course," said Serena. "Your father is probably sorry for getting angry at you."

Calem sighed.

"And I'm sorry for yelling at him," said Calem.

Tierno turned around.

"I think you should go tell your father that you're sorry," said Tierno.

"I'm sure he'll accept your apology," said Shauna.

"Okay," said Calem. He turned to Serena. "Come on, Serena. Let's go home."

Calem and Serena got up and started to leave.

"Bye!" said Calem and Serena.

"Merry Christmas!" said Tierno and Shauna.

Calem and Serena left Tierno's house and went back to Calem's house. When they got inside, they saw Pierre and Cecilia cleaning up. Calem and Serena walked up to the two, who took notice of them.

"Hello," said Calem.

"Hello, honey," said Serena. "We were worried about you. Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine," said Calem. "Thank you."

"What happened to the party?" asked Serena.

"I canceled it," said Pierre. "It was getting too stressful, so I told everyone to get out."

"Calem has something to say," said Serena.

Calem approached Pierre.

"Dad," said Calem, "I'm sorry for getting mad and ruining your party. I know I shouldn't have done it, and I should have been more grateful of the holiday."

Tears started to fall from Pierre's pink eyes.

"Calem," said Pierre, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have made you run around these past few days, and I shouldn't have even thrown this party in the first place. It was doomed from the start. I just got too caught up in having this party and I had forgotten who was important to me. And you, Calem, are the one who is important to me."

Calem hugged Pierre.

"And I think you're important to me too," said Calem. "I love you both."

Calem, Pierre, and Cecilia had a group hug. Serena joined in too.

"Well," said Serena, "I see that everything is back to normal. I guess I should help clean up."

Calem and Serena helped Pierre and Cecilia clean up. Eventually, Serena was wondering about her family.

"My family is probably going to be having dinner soon," said Serena. "I should get going. But first..."

Serena went up to Calem.

"Since it's Christmas Eve," said Serena, "I'd like to share a special kiss."

"Sure," said Calem.

Calem and Serena went to the doorway and kissed each other on the lips, holding hands as they did it.

"Thanks," said Calem.

"I'll be leaving now," said Serena. "Merry Christmas, Calem."

"Merry Christmas, Serena," said Calem.

Serena left Calem's house, and then Calem went back to his parents.

"Well," said Pierre, "since we have a lot of food left over from the party, how about we have a nice big dinner?"

"Yes!" said Calem.

Calem and his parents went to eat dinner.

**Merry Christmas!**

**THE END**


End file.
